LEGO games experiencing “absolutely no fatigue at all,” says Warner

LEGO games are steam-rolling their way through the industry with increased pace these days. There were quite a lot of them released in the last two or three years, but Warner’s senior vice president of international games Olivier Wolff reckons there’s no fatigue over the brand, but rather, a growing appetite.

Speaking with GI.biz, Wolff laid Warner’s gaming cards on the table and discussed the company’s strategy, and reluctance to rush next-gen titles to next-gen consoles just for the sake of it. He then suggested that the LEGO brand continues to go from strength to strength.

“I think that it is a really interesting blend of IPs,” he began. “At the core of it you’ve got LEGO and the sustained success of LEGO as a family franchise in so many parts of the world year after year. We’ve played with it as kids, as parents now, so there is that element behind it.

“But in parallel to that you’ve got the fact that LEGO has brought into toys great IPs, and therefore we can express it in games, and with the encounter of great IPs expressed in toys, you’ve got the magic of TT which has a unique sense of humour. Without the humour of TT there wouldn’t be great LEGO games.

“What has been interesting is that we were always concerned about is there a ceiling to that? And the reality is that there’s absolutely no fatigue at all and there is actually a demand for different experiences. And that humour element that I mentioned, and also the innovation. Now you’ve got Chima Online which is a fantastic experience – and that’s really not competing at all with the console products but really bringing a different type of experience and reinforcing engagement with the franchise.”

He may have a point, because every time I publish the weekly UK charts Lego Batman 2 has remained in the top 15-40 every week pretty much since it launched. It’s impressive.

The next title is, of course, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, launching on almost every format under the sun from October 18 in the States, then November 15 across Europe. It’s also a launch title on PS4 and Xbox One.

What do you think of the LEGO brand? Is it flat-lining in your opinion?